Light socket



April 13, 1948.

JTBJ.

W. MAJUSlCK LIGHT SOCKET Filed March 9, 1944 INVENTOR WALTER MAJUSICK ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 13, 1948 LIGHT SOCKET Walter Majusick, Dayton, Ohio, assignor of one half to Everett 0. Miller, Dayton, Ohio Application March 9, 1944, Serial No. 525,649

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a mounting socket for small light bulbs, and particularly to a mounting socket that is constructed and arranged to hold the light bulb securely in the socket against vibration and thereby prevent loosening of the same.

An object of the invention is to provide a mounting ocket for a light bulb wherein the contact members for the light bulb provide spring means to retain the same in the socket as well as provide the means for carrying electric current to the light bulb.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mounting socket for a light bulb of the type that has threads provided on the base thereof, wherein one of the contact members for engaging the base and carrying electric current to the light bulb is adapted to engage the threads on the base and thereby provide the means for permitting threaded insertion of the light bulb into the socket.

Still another object of the invention is to pro- 7 vide a light bulb mounting socket in accordance with the foregoing object wherein the contact member that engages the threads on the light bulb base is constructed as a spring pressure member for applying force upon the base to thereby securely hold the same in the light socket.

Still another object of the invention isto provide a light socket in accordance with the foregoing object wherein the contact member that engages the threads on the base of the light bulb is adapted to be moved against a positive step when the light bulb has been inserted into the socket a predetermined distance, so that further threaded insertion of light bulb is prevented and the contact member will apply force upon the threads in the base of the light bulb to securely hold the same in the light socket against loosening as a result of vibration.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a light socket for a light bulb in accordance with the foregoing object wherein at least one of the contact members for the light bulb is adapted to exert a transverse force upon the light bulb to hold the same in engagement with the socket, whereby the frictional contact thereof with the socket wall and the contact member will prevent loosening of the bulb in the socket.

Still another object of the invention provides a light bulb socket in accordance with the fore- 2 means for supplying a force parallel to the axis of the light bulb that is applied upon the threads on the base of the light bulb, to thereby prevent the same from loosening in the socket due to vibrations.

A further object of the invention is to provide a light bulb socket that is provided with smooth bored holes adapted to receive a light bulb that has threads on the base thereof, and wherein one of the contact members for the light bulb is adapted to engage threads on the base of the light bulb whereby the same can be threadedly received within the smooth bored holes in the socket, and wherein the contact members for the light bulb are spring members that are adapted to apply pressure upon the light bulb to thereby frictionally retain the same against the Walls of the socket to prevent the same from loosening in the socket as the result of vibration.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a light bulb socket in accordance with the foregoing object wherein the contact members forces applied upon the light bulb by the members are directed in opposite directions with respect to one another so that the base of the light bulb is retained between opposed resilient members which thereby apply a clamping pressure upon the base of the light bulb to retain the same securely within the socket.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a light bulb socket in accordance with any of the foregoing objects wherein a plurality of the sockets are arranged in a continuous strip for providing a light mounting strip to receive a plurality of bulbs of similar construction.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the drawings in the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a light bulb mounting strip incorporating features of the light going object wherein the light bulb socket is adapted to be clamped between one of the contact members for the light bulb and a shoulder provided on the light bulb to thereby provide bulb socket of this invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevational View of the appa ratus illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional View of the light Figure 6 is a cross-sectional View of the light bulb mounting socket illustrated in Figure 5 and is taken substantially along line 6-6 of Figure 5 Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View taken along lines l'! of Figure 2.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the light bulb socket of this invention is illustrated as being incorporated in a light bulb mounting strip wherein a pluralityof individual light bulbs are carried ina' single strip for mounting upon a panel member, While the preferred form of the invention has been illustrated as being incor porated in a mounting strip for a plurality of bulbs yet it will be readily understood that any one of the light bulb mounting sockets can be used individually, and independently, for mount:

ing a single light bulb upon apanel. This feature is more particularly illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings and will be hereinafter described.

As' illustrated in the drawings, the light bulb mduntirig strip 90 may be mount-ed upon any panel 11 of an apparatus that is adapted'to rece'ii e the mounting? strip it. Boltsorscrews l -Z are provided to secure the mounting stripis to' the'p'anel H, The light bulb rnounting strip l6 caiibe considered as being composed of a plurality of individuallight bulb mounting sockets [5; when the entire strip Ii) is divided into the individual components as illustrated by the dotdash lines. The light bulb mounting strip is, and thus the bulb socket E5, is constructed of an electrical insulating material so that the' contact members canibe mounted directly upontl-icstrip The light bulb'socket t5 therefore consists of a base l'fi that is substantially L-shape'd, as illus trated'in Figure 4. The base member this therefore provided witlia base'portion liia' that is substantially lower than the base portion i517; The

base'p'ortion ltd carries-a contact member H, and

the" base' portion ltb carries a contact member l8; 'Thecontact member ll is adapted to engage a second smooth bore hole 23 extending through thebase' portion ifib. The smoothbore holes 22 and 23 are" adapted to ice we the base 2 of the lightbulb v The contact member i'i provided w-ith a flat section 25 that rests upon the base portion [ta in a recess 59, and is secured thereto by means of the rivet 26. The" contacti'nember' I1 terminates ma U-shapedend portiontl'that has atip 15 formed at a right angle-' to one ofthe legs of the. UJ-shap'e'd portion 2? to thereby extend outwardly from the same, and overlaps the edge df the smooth bore hole asillustrated in Figure 4 The U-sha'ped end portion 21' of the contact member 5"! does not have the leg'portions thereof exactly parallel, so that the leg portion that carries the tip 28 can be resiliently urged toward the opposite'leg portioriand thereby cause the end portion 27' to function as a: spring mem beri The contact member 18' is positioned upon the base portion lfib in a recess similar to that in which the contact member I1 is placed and is secured to the base portion Nib by means of the rivet 28, and is provided with an extending end portion 29 that is adapted to engage the central contact on the bottom surface 39 of the light bulb 26.

A light bulb 20 has the base portion 24 thereof constructed as a metal sleeve that" is provided with the threads 3! thereon; The head 32 of the light bulb is of larger diameter than the base portion 26 thereby providing a shoulder 33 between t he head 32 and the base 24. The translucent bulb portion 34 extends beyond the head 32, and

the usual filament is provided in the translucent portion of the light bulb 26. Electric current is -t r;ansmittedutothe filament in the light bulb through the metal sleeve of the base 24 and throng-lithe contact provided on the bottom surface 3!] of the light bulb. It will of course be understood that the contact silais suitably insulated from the metal sleeve 24 in any conventionalmanner as is well-known'intheart.

When the light bulb 25 is inserted into the socket l5; as illustrated in=Figure3', the tip 280i the contact ll Will engage the thread 3! on the base ssof the light bulb 28. The light 'bulb' 29 may: therefore-be threadedly received Within the socket ib even though thesocket walls; that is" the smooth bored holes '22 and 23, do riot have any thread in them; As the bulb 29- is threaded in wa'rdly into the socket it, the thread 3| riding riding over the tip 28 of the-contact member -1, the shoulder etch the light bulbfi'fi willultimately engage" the front face 35 of the socket It and:

thereby preventthe light bulb-from entering any further into'the socket l5;

When the shoulder 53 engages the face 35 of the socket it, further rotation of the light bulb 29 in the socket will cause the U-shaped end section of the contact member ll to be drawndownwardly toward the rear face" 36 of the base portion Ita until'the'tip 28" engages therear Wall 35; When this occurs, thebase portion liiawill be clamped between the'shoulder 33 on the light bulb 2i] and the tip 28 on the contact member ll. contact member ii now has a tendency to move the light bulb 2B in a direction transverseto its axis and thereby c'ause'the base 2t toengage the surfaceo'f thesmooth bore hole'2-3". Itwill alsobe noted that the spring member 27 has a tendency to urge the light bulb in a leftward direction, as viewed in Figures 3 and 4, to thereby retain the shoulder 33 against'the' face 35 of the base por tion it; The frictional engagement of the base portion it against the shoulder 330i" the light bulb 2%], this engagement being retained under constant spring tension as developed by the mem ber 21, will prevent the light bulb from rotating when'it is vibrated.

When-the light bulb 26 is fully insertedinto-the socket it, as illustrated in Figure 3, the end 29 of the contact member law-ill engage the-central portion of the base 26 of the light bulb 2t and spring in a leftward direction as illustrated in sure between the spring members 21 and It; to

The U-s'haped spring end portion 2-! of the thereby resiliently clamp the base 24 between the end of contact member l3 and the end of contact member H.

In Figures 5 and 6 the construction of the light bulb socket previously described with regard to Figures 1 to 4 has been illustrated as being applied to a single mounting socket. In this arrangement all of the constructional features are of the same as those that have been previously described so that the corresponding elements will bear the same reference numerals as those previously referred to except that they will be given the suffix C.

The light bulb mounting socket l5a, as illustrated in Figure 5, is adapted to be secured to the panel 40 by means of suitable screws or bolts 4!. In Figure 6 it will be noted that the width of the light socket 15a is only slightly greater that the diameter of the light bulb 20a. This therefore provides a light bulb mounting socket that is constructed in a manner that will permit it to be mounted in a minimum space requirement. This feature is particularly advantageous when a plurality of light bulbs are to be mounted in a single strip as previously described with regard to Figure 1, because the overall dimensional length of the strip can be considerably less than with structures heretofore known. The convenience of this feature will be appreciated when it is understood that the diameter of the shoulder, or head 32 of the light bulb 20a is for example only of an inch, and the maximum width of the socket l5a is only 4 an inch. The maximum dimension of the light bulb therefore approximately fixes the minimum dimension in which it can be placed, when the light bulb mounting socket of this invention is used in combination therewith.

In the foregoing description of the light bulb mounting socket of this invention, the contact members I1 and [-8 have been specifically d scribed as being retained upon the base I 6 by means of rivets. However. it is entirely within the scope of this invention that the contact members l1 and I8 can be molded directly into the base member, should the base member be constructed by any of the conventional and Well known practices.

While the invention disclosed and described herein constitutes a preferred form of the invention, yet it will be understood that the apparatus is capable of mechanical alteration without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that all modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A light socket comprising, a substantially L-shaped body member forming thereby a thick portion with a ledge portion extending therefrom, a smooth Walled hole in said body member to receive the threaded base of a light bulb, said hole being positioned in saidbody member with a portion thereof in said ledge portion, a. spring leaf contact member secured to said thick portion and projecting over said hole to engage the central contact of a light bulb, and a second spring leaf contact member secured to said ledge portion and having one end thereof projecting into said hole for engagement with threads on a light bulb.

2. A light socket comprising, a substantially L-shaped body member forming thereby a thick portion with a ledge portion extending therefrom, a smooth walled hole in said body memher to receive the threaded base of a light bulb, said hole being positioned in said body member with a portion thereof in said ledge portion, a spring leaf contact member secured to said thick portion and projecting over said hole to engage the central contact of a light bulb, and a second sprin leaf contact member secured to said ledge portion and having one end thereof projecting into said hole for engagement with threads on a light bulb, said spring leaf contact members being disposed radially of said hole on diametrically opposite sides thereof.

3. In combination, a light socket comprising, a substantially L-shaped body member forming thereby a thick portion with a led e portion extending therefrom, a smooth walled hole in said body member to receive the threaded base of a light bulb, said hole being positioned in said body member with a portion thereof in said ledge portion, a sprin leaf contact member secured to said thick portion and projecting over said hole to engage the central contact of a light bulb, and a second spring leaf contact member secured to said ledge portion and having one end thereof projecting into said hole for engagement with threads on a light bulb, said spring leaf contact members being disposed radially of said hole on diametrically opposite sides thereof, and a light bulb having a threaded base with a shoulder thereon positioned in said hole with said projecting end of said second contact member engaging the threads on the light bulb base, said shoulder engaging said ledge to limit the insertion of the light bulb into said body member and to clamp said ledge between said second contact member and said shoulder.

WALTER. MAJUSICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 693,087 Uytenbogaart Feb. 11, 1902 1,033,347 Richardson July 23, 1912 1,036,010 Russell Aug. 20, 1912 1,104,577 Thomas July 21, 1914 1,219,908 Both Mar. 20, 1917 1,352,636 Stretton et a1 Sept. 14, 1920 1,774,515 Johnson Sept. 2, 1930 1,779,804 Dubilier Oct. 28, 1930 1,927,254 Benjamin Sept. 19, 1933 2,071,769 Schlicker Feb. 23, 1937 2,124,083 Rypinski July 19, 1938 2,297,374 Tingle Sept. 29, 1942 2,308,016 Mihalyi Jan. 12, 1943 

